On a Sunday night this March, as thousands of youngsters grooved to tracks belted out by popular Dutch DJ Tiesto in a makeshift pavilion in a Noida club, a 59-year-old man with salt and pepper hair waded through the throngs, a silent observer. Pawan Munjal, the pilot of the world's largest twowheeler maker by volumes, Hero MotoCorp, was there to "feel the pulse of the youth".

The next morning, Munjal closeted himself with 150 young Hero employees, aged 21-35 years, at The Grand in New Delhi. "He deliberately did not call any senior management as he wanted us to be completely open," says an employee who attended the meeting, on the condition of anonymity. The meeting, scheduled for an hour, stretched to four hours, spilling over to lunch, as Munjal fielded queries ranging from the company's international business plans to product development.

Embedded in those interactions is the way Munjal wants to change Hero, from a maker of two-wheelers that people mostly use to commute to something that is also younger and trendier. Embedded in those interactions are also the hopes and concerns of Hero at the crossroads it finds itself with the departure of its partner of nearly three decades, Honda.

It has a lot on its side: the mighty edifice of a Rs 23,768 crore operation, a market leading 48% share in twowheelers in India, the go-to name in commuter bikes, a sales and service reach that equals all its rivals put together. But it was all built with Honda, which went its own way in March 2011, and a fuzzy future is threatening Hero's storied past.

Rivals—led by Honda, whose stated ambition is to be number one in India by 2015-16—are filling Hero's mirrors. And, lately, Hero has been found wanting. In a market where a launch every six months is the norm, Hero's last new model was nine months ago, and it has nothing more till the festive season. Sales of Hero Splendor, the largest-selling motorcycle model in India, shrunk about 20% in 2012-13, from 2.5 million to 2 million. Its motorcycle sales are, in fact, struggling to grow and it is scooters that are making the slack.

Hero has missed analyst estimates for net profit in seven of the last eight quarters. In the quarter to December 2012, it posted its lowest net margin in 15 years, as sales tapered, costs increased and a re-branding exercise made it to spend a lot more on advertising. In the past year, the Hero stock has fallen 3.4%, in a broad market that has gained 23.5% and one of its two main rivals, Bajaj Auto, has risen 21%. "It is facing perhaps the toughest time of its existence," says Abdul Majeed, partner, automotive practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Earlier this year, when Hero unveiled an unprecedented five-year warranty—the industry norm is three years—on its motorcycles, many said it was desperation masquerading as confidence. "Hero doesn't carry weight without Honda," says Mahantesh Sabarad, senior vice-president of equity research at Fortune Securities, a brokerage, on the warranty's meaning.

In this challenging backdrop, Munjal is beginning to unravel his blueprint for Hero's life after Honda. He doesn't say so, but his vision for the Hero of tomorrow resembles the Honda of today: known in every part of the worldmaking all kinds of two-wheelers from zippy scooters to thunderous bikes, and self-sufficient in technology.

One by one, Munjal is initiating multiple journeys he hopes will see Hero tick all those three boxes in the next 10 years. He has opened a new flank, exports, and is targeting 10% of sales from here by 2018. He is filling the technology hole left by Honda with three partnerships with overseas manufacturers.

He is beefing up research and development by setting up the country's largest R&D centre in Kukas, Rajasthan, to assimilate and create technologies and designs, and make an impression with launches. "The idea is to not just take Brand Hero global, but also to make it more contemporary and youthful," says Munjal. It's an endeavour that is taking him to places as diverse as Noida, Guatemala and Kenya, and has his calendar booked for two years. Going Global

One of the clauses in Hero's erstwhile partnership with Honda was that the Indian entity would not go to markets where its Japanese partner was present. Which was, well, everywhere—about 150 countries. Even Bajaj Auto, the third spoke of the two-wheeler troika in India, diversified into exports in 2005-06, and exported 1.2 million units in 2012-13.

Making up for lost time and opportunity, Hero is planning a big push in exports, with 100-125cc bikes. With the objective of taking its annual sales in foreign markets from zero to 1 million units in five years, the company has short-listed about 30 countries. "We are going to markets where we have the best hope of quick entry and quick gains," says Munjal.